The Toynbee Tiles – Cryptic Messages Embedded in Streets Around the World
The Tiles Themselves
If you walk down a street in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, or even Santiago, Chile, you might glance down and see a linoleum tile, melted into the asphalt, usually about the size of a license plate.
The wording — slightly varied, but usually this:
"TOYNBEE IDEA
IN MOViE ‘2001
RESURRECT DEAD
ON PLANET JUPITER"
Sometimes, there are extra lines — rants about media control, secret societies, or moral philosophy.
They’re not stenciled. Not stickers. They’re made from linoleum, tar paper, and some kind of adhesive, heated and pressed into roadways, where they slowly fuse with the pavement.
They are anonymous, unsettling, and extremely deliberate.
Who or What Is It Talking About?
There are three strange references fused into one message:
🧠 "Toynbee"
Refers to Arnold J. Toynbee, a British historian and philosopher. He once speculated on the cyclical rise and fall of civilizations and mused about resurrecting life using science.
🎥 “Movie 2001”
Refers to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey — a film about evolution, extraterrestrial life, artificial intelligence, and the mysterious transformation of a man into a “Star Child” above Jupiter.
🪦 “Resurrect Dead on Planet Jupiter”
This is the most unsettling part — a theological/scientific hybrid statement that blends eschatology with sci-fi. It reads like a manifesto. Or a prophecy.
Where Are They Found?
- Over 600 confirmed sightings
- Major cities across the U.S., especially Philadelphia (the apparent origin)
- Internationally in South America (Chile, Argentina, Brazil)
- Often found in the middle of busy intersections, implying they were placed without being seen
Even more disturbing? No one has ever been caught installing them.
Some tiles last decades. Others vanish quickly.
The materials are cheap. But the message is not.
Theories: Who Is Behind the Tiles?
🕵️ 1. A Philadelphia recluse
A 2011 documentary, Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles, investigated and tracked the origin to a man named Severino “James” Morosini, who lived in Philly, communicated via shortwave radio, and was obsessed with the Toynbee/Kubrick idea.
He was never publicly interviewed, and never confirmed or denied responsibility.
🧠 2. A mental health mystery
Some believe the tiles are the product of a brilliant but unstable mind — obsessed with religion, film, history, and cosmic resurrection.
🕸️ 3. A decentralized project
Over time, others may have copied the technique and created their own tiles, muddying the origin but expanding the mythos.
🧪 4. A transhumanist prophet
The message reads like a post-death resurrection vision, where humans will rise again — not in heaven, but on Jupiter, using science and memory.
Why It’s So Disturbing
**No money. No reward. No claim.
Just a person — or movement — embedding a manifesto into the world’s roads, one tile at a time.
And doing so invisibly.**
What do they want? Why no website, no signature, no endgame? Who risks traffic, police, and injury — just to place linoleum messages about death and rebirth?
And They’re Still Appearing
As recently as 2016, new tiles have been confirmed — suggesting that either the original tiler is still active, or the idea has outlived its creator.
One newer tile adds the phrase:
"YOU MUST MAKE + GLUE TOYNBEE TILE. YOU!!!"
Like a commandment passed down.